Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
"Like the death of Stalin, to which it is sometimes compared, the death of Alexander poses a mystery that is perhaps insoluble but nonetheless irresistible." Murdered by his generals? Died of natural causes? Or poisoned by his wife?
Short history of currency unions. France and America discussed it. (What a thought.) Britain stood apart. (What a surprise.) Ancient Greeks were quite good at it; modern Greece always bad. Expelled from Latin Monetary Union in 1908
"Athens, with its brilliant intellectual and cultural achievements, enjoyed a free market in education. Sparta, an intellectual and cultural wasteland, was dominated by a system of state education." One which was to influence many
He won battles. He could lead men. But he was a drunk, a sadist, and a mass-murderer. He conquered and terrorised large parts of the world in order to indulge his own appetites for power and adventure. Is that the mark of greatness?
"Dionysius couldn’t make Syracuse richer by re-stamping the coins. And the European Central Bank couldn’t change the course of a few hundred years of Greek history by enforcing a one size fits all monetary policy"
Engaging, informative history of barbering through the ages. Your one-stop shop for tattoos, enemas, dental work and intimate surgery. Not forgetting twice-yearly bloodletting, hence the red and white striped poles
For 2004 Olympics, Greece overspent and underplanned in rush to build venues. They were supposed to be of lasting social value. But most of them are vacant and padlocked
Advice that ancient Greek philosophers might offer to modern Greek crisis-managers. Short, clever, original, funny. What more can one ask?
Sixth-century Athens was first Western society to have money. Today we are blasé about greed, consumerism, alienation. But all this was new to the Greeks, and helped shape their literature
Nebamun panels are ancient Egypt's greatest tomb paintings. Created for a middle-ranking official by an unknown artist who was probably working on a grander project, took a bribe to do this one on the side
Unidentified Artist. Ulysses Killing the Suitors
